Feathers
by Okiony
Summary: Altair hasn't always been so cold and distant, but he has always been egoistic and impulsive. That is what brings him to met April, a young thief he saves from a group of gards in his early years as an assassin. What he doesn't know yet is that she will become much more than just another thief running around Jerusalem. She will be the feather he dips into the blood of the King...
1. Flames

_**Oi!**_

_**So here's chapter one: Flames**_

_**I don't own Assassin's Creed (sadly), only my plot and OCs**_

_**Enjoy :)**_

- That is going to cost you your life!

He grabbed my arm viciously, pulling me away from the fruit cart. I didn't have time to react that the guard slapped me across the face, a golden ring on his index finger digging into my cheek, ripping the flesh. The force of the hit sent me stumbling backwards. Still in dazed confusion, I couldn't counter when strong hands grabbed my shoulders and a foot found its place in the small of my back. I let out a cry of pain, falling onto the stone street heavily. I tried to cushion the fall with my hands, the apple I had just stolen flying out of my palm, landing at the feet of the guard that had caught me. I tried to scramble to my knees, my mouth blurting out an orchestrated excuse that no longer had value. There was more than one pair of feet, maybe five or six, I couldn't tell; my vision blurry. The one to my right kicked me in the side with a force that scared away all the oxygen in my lungs, leaving me unable to properly inhale in any way that could have helped me run away. So, instead of using my body and human existence for its usual purpose (living), I end up on my back, a trickle of warm blood sliding down my cheek and neck, a pulsing pain coming from just about every inch of my body, surrounded by a group of men in royal guard uniforms with hungry looks in their eyes. And something told me that they weren't hungry for anything mildly nutritious. The one that had so warmly slapped me across the face gave me a wonderfully sly smile that sent a shiver up my bruised spleen.

- It's been a long time since I've caught a girl in the act of theft, he said almost too jovially.

I wanted to jump up and tear his eyes out with my only slightly bitten nails, but they had their swords pointed towards me. They gleamed menacingly in the moonlight, as if laughing at my poor situation. Another guard approached his leader, whispering something to him. The ringed man swatted him away.

- No need for formalities, she knows what she has done, breaking the law and stealing, her penalty is death, but I'm sure General Trothed won't mind if I don't bring you in immediately… His words slithered out of his mouth like a serpents tongue.

The other guards smirked at him comment. My blood froze in my veins and my eyes widened in horror. He chuckled at my expression and I swore under my breath. _Never show fear, it is a weakness of the mind that can become one of the body if not mastered. _I struggled to take a deep breath and calm myself. I just needed to think. I could get out of this situation, I always did, so why not now? Three of the five men I had managed to count once my vision had settle, where holding torches. It was the only source of light, except for the moon, in the streets of the city at this hour, which was long past the lawfully stated curfew. I could use the darkness to my advantage. The guards that surrounded me where only equipped with the royal red uniform, a sword and a small dagger, nothing I could use to extinguish the torches. My eyes darted around the darkness of the street but nothing helpful was in my reach. If only I could…

- Bound her hands and gag her then leave her too me, the leader of the group ordered.

- But Crow… The man that had whispered to him earlier protested.

- Do as I said and continue the round, the man named Crow yelled at him.

The smirk on the other's faces disappeared, leaving a jealous glare towards their leader, but they followed their orders. The two guards that weren't holding the torches closed on me, one of the violently turning me onto my stomach using his foot and tied a dirty rag around my head while the other grabbed my hands and tied them together behind my back. I fidgeted and tried to squirm out of their grasp, but a firm kick in the ribs put an end to my attempts at liberation. I wheezed and coughed up a little blood, but kept my eyes on Crow that devoured me with his eyes. A panicking flutter had settled itself in my stomach but I let nothing transpire.

_Never show fear, it is a weakness of the mind that can become one of the body if not mastered._

_Never show fear, it is a weakness._

_Never show fear._

I repeated to myself. I tugged at the ropes that cut through the skin of my wrists, but it was no use. I gritted my teeth. If a look could kill, Crow would be dead on the spot, but sadly they couldn't. The man that had bounded me tugged on the ropes one last time before getting up and signaling the others to follow him. Only one sword was left pointed towards me at the others disappeared into the dark night. I swallowed with difficulty, staring defiantly at Crow. He slowly approached me, playing with the hilt of his sword, a devilish smile pulling at his lips. He crouched beside me and I didn't bother with struggling, he had the advantage, I just had to wait for the right moment to strike. He turns me back onto my back and sets his sword against my neck, leaning in too close for my comfort. Him face was barely two inches from mine and I could smell the alcohol in his wet breath. He seemed amused by how I stared back, unwavering, standing my ground.

- Cute, he snickered.

I wanted to spit in his face, but I contained myself, biting down on the gag. I could see his dagger dangling at his belt. If only I could reach it, then I could kill him. I only had to find a way to get my hands free. I started tugging at the ropes again, hopping it would work, the pain keeping my senses alert. And I realise my legs aren't bound. He sheltered his sword, his hand staying an abnormally at his belt. I bite down on the inside of my soar cheek, keeping in the urge to kick him right away. He just has to move his hand away from his weapon, just a little further…

- A dirty alley isn't the best place to get to know each other but… He whispers hoarsely beside my ear.

His hand leaves his belt and falls onto my left knee. For a few seconds I'm paralysed by the sudden cold contact. His fingers create shock waves that ripple up my leg and into my whole body. I shiver. His hand slowly creeps its way up my thigh, under my run-down shorts. My hands tremble in my back. I can feel his breath become ragged beside my ear as his hand finds my prominent hip bone due to mal nourishment. His fingers caress my hip for a second and I can't breathe. And then his hand starts moving again, following the curve of my basin but not heading up, doing quite the opposite.

I snap out of it the paralysing trance and viciously kick him in the stomach and other sensible parts. He lets out a strangled cry and toppled over, the torch falling from his hand. As he lets out a list of curses, the torch hits the ground right beside my head. I quickly roll over and away from the fire that had started spreading, catching onto small pieces of hay that had separated from the big stack only a few feet away. I swear silently, unable to formulate the words. I keep on rolling away from the growing flames, but the alley is a dead end. I find myself facing a brick wall. I pull once more against the ropes, but I only make my wrists bleed even more. I squirm for a while and manage, God knows how, to get to my knees. I struggle a breath into my lungs and start to get to my feet as the fire catches onto the hay stack. The flames grow incredibly fast and in a matter of seconds they form a wall at the other extremity of the alley, trapping me…

And Crow.

Smoke rises from the fire and soon I'm choking on the gag. I lean against the wall farthest from the fire and farthest from Crow. I can see him, swaying on his feet, and his dark figure standing in front of the fire at the other end of the alley. I franticly look around for another escape but all the tree walls are too high for me to jump and I can't climb with my hands tied. The other way is through the fire, but I'll only do that when becoming a human torch is the best and only alternative.

The light of the fire caught the steel blade in Crow's hand, making it shine menacingly. My eyes widen and I realise he has no intention of bringing me in to General Trothed. I push back against the wall but there is nowhere to go. He walks up to me, turning his dagger between his fingers, a sardonic smile stretched across his features. I want to slide to the ground and curl up into a ball, but I stand up straight, eyeing him defiantly. He laughs a low fake laugh and regains the uncomfortable closeness he had moments before. His face inches from mine, but this time he makes sure my legs are in check, if I try anything, he could deflect and brake them. I gritted my teeth together, throwing daggers at him with my eyes. If only a look could kill…

- You're brave, I'll grant you that, he hissed, but you think too much…

I frowned, not understanding what he meant, until I felt the cold metal of a blade against my left thigh. I didn't have time to react that it sunk into my flesh, cutting a clean line across my thigh, just on the rim of my shorts. My eyes went wide as pain burst through my leg, irradiating from the cut. I let out a cry of pain, muffled by the gag, and feel to the ground. My hands turned to fists and my knuckles turned white as I dug my short nails into my palms, the pain too much in my leg. Tears obstructed my vision, but it was for the better, the sight of my own blood gushing out of the gash making my stomach churn.

Two cold hands grabbed the front of my shirt and pulled me up. My feet barely touched the ground as Crow held me at his eyelevel. I wanted to look strong and unbreakable, but I'm not sure it transfigured into my expression which was probably distorted by the pain. I could see the fire ragging behind him, inching closer towards us. I struggled weakly in his grasp, the burning pain in my leg making it hard to concentrate on anything.

- I could kill you now, Crow said to me, but you still have something I want…

I struggled helplessly in his arms as he lied me down on the ground, pinning my shoulders against the hard patted down soil of the poor side of Jerusalem. I squirmed under his grasp but it was made of iron. He set his knee over the gash on my thigh and I screamed against the gag. Once again I felt his cold hands settle against my skin. Even though the oven-like temperatures, I still shivered at the glacial contact. His hands slid under my shirt and the contrast between the burning pain and the cold touch made my head spin, or maybe that was the loss of blood. His hands circled my waist and soon, all that separated my body from his was the thin layer of clothing I wore. I couldn't believe he was still going to go through with it. The impendent doom roaring behind him should have dissuaded him, or at least attracted more guards. And yet there he was, kneeling over me, devouring my pitiful sight as he tugged at my shirt.

I struggled. I struggled like a madman not wanting to give into death, but it wasn't enough and I just wished the pain would lull me into unconsciousness, because if my old pair of shorts has survived this long, they weren't going to survive any longer. I closed my eyes and just wished the fire would consume me, taking away the pain, and Crow, and everything.

The body above me went completely limp. I frowned and dared to open my eyes. I found Crow's face, inches from mine; dead eyes staring at me, or at least, where staring at me. I almost let out a scream, the gag incapacitating me. I squirmed under the dead body until Crow's corpse was pushed off me. A dark figure stepped over me and kneeled next to Crow's. I immediately shuffled back, using the wall as a support to sit up. I could only see the back of the man. He was just a little taller than average, lean but muscular, all wrapped in white robes. He was wearing a long hood so I couldn't see the back of his head, but I didn't need to. I knew who – what he was.

He was an assassin.

_**First Assassin's Creed Fanfic, hoped you guys like the begining!**_

_**Still not completly sure where I'm going with this story, but i got the begining figured out and you can be expecting a second chapter soon enough (maybe by next monday, but probably sooner)**_

_**Oh and if anyone wants to be my magnificent Beta, it would be greatly appreciated (with my talent for errors and making complicated stories and this thing I have with changing verbe tenses...! I'll need one ) **_

_**Please R&R! I thrive for feedback! It makes me write faster...!**_

_**- Okiony**_


	2. Assassins

_**I'm soooo sorry it took me sooo long to update, but here it is (finaly) chp 2 of Feathers, enjoy :)**_

Chp. 2 – Assassins

I watched with horrid fascination as the assassin pulled out a spotless white feather from his belt. He ceremoniously dipped into the gash in the side of Crow's neck, which wasn't there a few seconds ago, and stained the feather with the red blood of the dead man. I couldn't help but ask myself if the assassin was going to kill me next. I cowered back into the far corner of the alley, dragging my left leg with me. _Never show fear? _It was too late for that.

The assassin closed the eyes of his victim and slid the feather back into his belt. He then turned to me. My breathing went wild and I could feel my heart beating out of my rib cage. I pushed back into my corner but once again there was nowhere to go. I eyed him, half critically, half scared. He wore robes that resembled those of the monks, and I would have mistaken him for one if he hadn't just killed Crow. His long hood hid his eyes, but I could still see his square jaw a thin lips. Arm guards protected his forearms and a hidden blade could slide out of the left one. He nonchalantly whipped the bloodied blade on his white robe as he walked towards me. My whole body was trembling with fear.

Everyone knew the stories about the assassins. I was no exception. Merciless, they crossed the country, killing guards and nobles and black market merchants. They had no pity and no soul, feasting on the last breath their victims drew. Endowed with superhuman speed and strength, they could climb just about anything, run for days on end and spread death like the demons below.

They sounded more like folk characters than real people, and yet there he was, standing in front of me after appearing out of nowhere, impersonating a follower of God with such disgrace my stomach churned – or maybe it was fear that made me feel sick.

He kneeled down beside me, his hidden face inches from mine.

- Are you hurt? He asked in a masculine voice.

I dared not answer, and even if I wanted too, I couldn't have with the gag. He realised that and tore the gag from my mouth. I immediately was able to breathe easier, but I just stared, wide-eyed and probably looking like a frightened beast, at his hooded figure. He looked down at my bleeding leg and swore under his breath.

- That was a stupid question… He muttered to himself as he ripped of a piece of his white robe.

Without even asking me, he slipped his hands under my left leg and tied the piece of cloth tightly a few centimetres above the gash. I let out a muffled cry of pain between clenched teeth, closing my eyes as tightly as I could as tears blurred my vision. The gushing of blood turned into a trickle, but the burning pain was still all too real.

- Can you stand? He then ask me.

Again, my lips stayed sealed. He shook his head and revised himself.

- Another stupid question.

His glance went between the roaring fire that had grown closer, me and the wall behind me. He let out a short breath before picking me up and throwing me over his large shoulders. I yelled in protest and fear. I tried to wiggle out of his grasp but once again, I was in the hands of a man much stronger than I.

- Stop fidgeting, I'm trying to save your life here! He exclaimed.

I stopped trashing around and took a deep breath to calm myself. He was saving me, I was being idiotic. Why would he save me to kill me afterwards? I was being irrational.

The assassin shifted my light weight over his shoulder and ran up the nearest wall. I almost chocked out a scream as I saw the ground grow farther.

Heights.

I hate heights.

I closed my eyes tightly and sang a melody in my head. Don't think about it. Don't worry. Everything is perfectly fine. The horrible pressure or fear filling my chest and pushing against my heart and lungs was suffocating me. Just don't look down, simple as that. Focused on something else, anything else.

I concentrated on the pain the assassin's shoulder digging into my bruised stomach caused. The burning one in my left leg. The other one in the small of my back and the stinging one in my cheek. Pain, I knew pain. I lived with pain. The streets are a harsh place. Living in them is a challenge only few pass. It was a miracle I had survived this long. Eleven years, or at least something around that number. I couldn't remember the exact date of my parent's death, nor my parents for that matter. I was around five. I only remember falling…

Two strong hands grabbed my waist and the assassin pulled me down against his chest, holding in one arm my legs and in the other, my upper body. I looked around, confused. We were on the roof of a building. The building wasn't very high, but you would see all of Jerusalem from there. The night was still young, the sky still painted a dark shade of blue enlightened by the moon and stars. A red light was coming from behind us; the fire.

We we're in plane sigh for anyone to see, a shadow against a light. The assassin realised that as well started running, holding me tightly against his muscular chest. My breaths where short and his as well. We we're running straight towards the end of the roof. My eyes widened in horror. He wanted to kill us both! I barely had time to scream that he jumped. We sored through the air as if time had spread out. Wind was pushing my black shards of hair into my eyes and I took it as an excuse to close my eyes. I didn't want to see the street below us, rushing to meet us. But it didn't. We landed safely on the other side, quite harshly, but safely, alive. I let out a breath I hadn't realised I was keeping, but kept my eyes closed.

I suddenly felt tired. His arms where so warm around me, and my eyelids where so heavy. Why would I want to open them again? I forgot the pain in my leg and stomach and back and cheek and just drifted, as if the wind was carrying me. It was so easy to drift into unconsciousness, so easy to let go. You just had to stop thinking…

- Hey, hey! Don't black out now, I need you to stay awake!

A voice far off somewhere above me was yelling at me. I groaned in my semi-consciousness as if to say «don't bother me! », but it was still there, insisting.

- Listen to me, you have to stay with me, we're almost there!

We were going somewhere? Where? Who was calling me? Everything seemed so far away, so unimportant. I just wanted the voice to shut up, but it wouldn't go away, it was there, at the back of my head, yelling at me. Was it the assassin? I wrenched my eyes open, using the last of my energy.

The assassin was kneeling over me, a worried expression sunken deep into his amber eyes. I could see his eyes? His hood was thrown back and his face was overdrawn. He was quite handsome, if I do so say myself, in a rustic, assassin way. I would give him maybe a year or two older than me, 17-18 maybe? His brows where furrowed though, clouding his pretty eyes. The unusual things you think about when you are about to fall unconscious...

- I need you to stand up, he said.

His voice was loud and harsh beside my ear, as if clawing at my eardrums. I frowned but obeyed. He set out a hand and I took it grudgingly, but too tired to remember to be afraid of the handsome young man. He pulled me up into a sitting position then onto my right leg, staying off of the left one. He passed my arm around his shoulders and I leaned onto him, forgetting the pain.

_Just keep going…_

Yelled could be heard behind us, guards apparently. I put my left foot down and gasp as a new wave of pain exploded in my leg. Black dots appeared in my vision and I swayed dangerously on my feet. The assassin passed an arm around my waist, easing the weight on my injured leg.

_Don't worry about me…_

Something flew passed me and hissed as it grazed my left ear. I didn't even flinch, but the assassin swore. We took another step and I think I died a thousand times before my weight was on my right leg again.

_Just keep going…_

We were heading towards an opening in the roof of a building. Two, three more steps and we just needed to jump to get in. That's when a metal knife wedged itself in the assassin's shoulder. He didn't cry, but his eyes went wide and he fell forwards, bringing me down into the opening with him. I didn't scream, I didn't have time too. In less than half a second, I hit the floor, and everything went black.

_Everything will be fine…_

_**Ohhh clift hanger... *dramatic music*...**_

_**Again, soooo sorrryyyyy, please forgive me! i'll try to make it up to you guys by updating faster next time! with a delicious chp about Altair and April... mouwahahaha... ya i'm going crazy...**_

_**See ya soon**_

_**- Okiony**_


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